Ojibwe History
Maude Kegg, or Naawakamigookwe (Middle of the Earth Lady), was a renowned Ojibwe artist, writer, and cultural preservationist. She was born near Portage Lake in 1904 and was an enrolled member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Throughout her life, she worked to preserve Ojibwe language and culture. She wrote several books recounting Ojibwe life and stories and, in later years, she worked as an interpreter at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum & Trading Post.
Kegg is perhaps best known for her beautiful beadwork. Her pieces include intricate Ojibwe floral designs and were created using geometric loom techniques. In 1990, she received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Start learning more about Maude Kegg and Ojibwe culture and history at the Gale Family Library with the resources below. And contact the library for assistance with in-depth Ojibwe history research or additional questions.
Hear Kegg’s story and other oral histories related to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Research Ojibwe family history
Learn about the Ojibwe language
- A Dictionary of the Ojibway Language, by Frederic Baraga, St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992, MNHS call number: PM853 .B28 1992
- Ojibwe People’s Dictionary
Read books written by Maude Kegg:
- Gabekanaansing = At the End of the Trail: memories of Chippewa childhood in Minnesota, with texts in Ojibwe and English, MNHS call number: E99.C6 K442
- Gii-ikwezensiwiyaan = When I was a little girl: memories of Indian childhood in Minnesota, MNHS call #: E99.C6 K44
- Nookomis gaa-inaajimotawid = What my Grandmother told me: with texts in Ojibwe and English, MNHS call number: E75 .O83
- Portage Lake: memories of an Ojibwe childhood, MNHS call number: E99.C6 K443 1991
Watch and hear the Kegg family discuss Ojibwe culture at the library
- Aazhoniingwa'igan Ojibwe bandolier bag. MNHS call number: Videotape ; User Copy 431
- Documents the creation of two bandolier bags by noted Ojibwe artists, Maude Kegg and Ellen Olson.
- Chippewa handicraft, MNHS call number: C-65
This Monroe Killy film portrays Ojibwe harvesting and preparing wild rice, spearfishing through ice, collecting sap and making maple syrup, playing games, gathering birchbark making birchbark items, and preparing skins for leather and sewing moccasins.